You have to make upgrades with consoles too, just less frequently, and many PC games have physical versions. I buy the physical versions sometimes, as in my country PC physical games new ones usually cost around $20-30, and that's all AAA games like ROTTR which was $18 at release.

I can agree with exclusives, but PC is getting many console exclusives too now, from PlayStation and Xbox, and if you just have one of these you can only get exclusives from that company, but with PC you get many exclusives from both, so its less of a reason not to have one.

PC gaming has been bigger than ever before, on Facebook all gaming pages usually have mostly PC gamers and few console gamers, and PC hardware is also getting farther ahead of consoles.

GTA V did, and some games do. Most games have steam links but you do have the box if you're a collector.

Some games have some of the data on a disc and you have to download the rest on Steam.

You can build a pc pretty cheap, and when you buy like 10-20 games from cd key websites or on steam sales, its ultimately much cheaper then console gaming, with free online services, the controller and side-hardware of your choice, playable on monitor or television, its just... PC is so great right now!! :)

I can't play my digital and physical PC games on my old PC anymore :/ It's wifi module broke, can't connect to the internet anymore, no biggie just disable it, pc is still useful. However, the only game that still works is FSX, rest on it is all linked to Steam which wasn't closed in off-line mode so nothing runs. I tried using a wifi stick, yet Windows 7 can't verify the digital signature online so Windows 7 won't install it.
Sure I can find a different way to fix it yet it's not worth my time. Turn on the old ps2 and I can play my old physical games within 60 seconds instead.

Anyway as Veknoid I enjoyed PC gaming immensly in the 90's and early naughties. Since then I've rather gone with the convenience of consoles, better fun/time ratio, less distractions.

Sales on PC are typically better than on consoles, and most store sales are a joke compared to either.

Convenience is the best part of console gaming. I never had the problem you are having, but I've had other problems before with PC games, such as requiring GFWL and being Windows 8 incompatible like with GTA IV, so it was hard but I got a workaround to it after many hours. Then later my copy of EFLC was bricked when I had already completed TLAD and was playing TBOGT, by an update to GFWL that the client itself had asked for. I later bought it on PS3.

But if you understand the technical side of things there are awlways workarounds to any software problem and these days its become more simple too, its mostly a matter of having the latest drivers installed and checking that your system specs can run the game.

I play mostly on PS4 now as I like to play on one platform at a time but PC gaming offers a lot of options and its getting better too.

I remember that well and it wasn't all that long ago.  Some console-only gamers were saying that publishers didn't care about PC and would stop putting their products on PC because of piracy.  Funny how times have changed.

This is definitely the best time for PC that I've experienced.  I mean, I just bought Neptunia Re;Birth yesterday for like $5.  I never would have imagined that a few years ago.  Japan has finally discovered PC and other publishers have finally discovered that you beat piracy with improved service, not penalties that hurt your entire userbase.

The best thing is competition.  Steam might dominate but there are also websites like GoG, GMG, Humble, and Amazon.

The only thing that really bothers me are the console-only gamers who spread untruths about PC gaming, be it from ignorance or animosity.  I'm still seeing things like "you have to have a $1000 computer" or "you have to upgrade every year".

Every day is the best day for PC gaming.

Maybe one day it will be common enough knowledge that these ridiculous threads stop.

110% agreed! Yea I don't get this notion of "you have to buy a $1000 computer" or "you have to upgrade every year" either. Digital Foundry has done an entry level gaming PC with an i3 + 750ti vs Ps4/x1 comparison for almost every new title. And when you look at the performance numbers and graphics quality, sometimes it beats the ps4, sometimes its on par with the ps4 and sometimes, it falls behind against the ps4 but rarely is it unplayable vs the ps4. So getting a fairly cheap PC like that while performing around ps4 levels while having the benefits of PC gaming provides a pretty good experience imo. Specially since PCs can do more than just play games.

Heck, you can't even get a 750ti anymore cause virtually all video cards these days far exceed it in terms of performance with the same price point, specially when looking at the 480 and the upcoming 1060. On top of that, PC games are generally cheaper than console games. Not only has both the Witcher 3 and Overwatch launched on PC cheaper than consoles but if you are a member of Greenman Gaming as well as many other websites, you will get around 20%+ discount for pre-ordering games through them. (You can't get any refund unless its an extreme case however)

Speaking of refunds, that is the best thing about PC gaming as of late. Steam, Origin and etc all do refunds so if for any reason someone doesn't like a game, doesn't matter what it is, bam, refund! (Within a certain amount of time of course.) It allows me to pre-order games without thinking twice about whether or not I would like a certain game cause if I don't... Refund!

And the list goes on. I hope one day, people will actually think of PC gaming differently. In the past, yes, it has been a hassle but these days, its as viable as ever. Sure it doesn't have exclusives like UC4 and etc but consoles don't have exclusives like Starcraft and Civ as well as the countless games being released on PC specifically but granted, they aren't as big.

It's very decent, but the best time that has ever been...nope, that would be 90s/early 00s...time when big PC devs were actually making games with PC first in mind.